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And the chairman of the committee admitted it could be embarrassing if an MP was caught tweeting inappropriately during a sombre debate.

Greg Knight, Tory MP for East Yorkshire, said: 'Rightly, there would be an outcry if, whilst a minister was announcing deaths in Afghanistan, someone was tweeting about their holidays - but we are relying on the good sense of members.

'To pretend this technology doesn't exist would just be backwards.'

Decorum needed: Some MPs have already been in hot water over controversial Tweets, such as Labour's Ben Bradshaw for remarks made about David Cameron

But he said the committee had taken a ‘common sense approach’ that would stop MPs feeling they had to miss a debate in order to catch up with emails.

'In the modern age, it's easy for your inbox to fill up, but this allows MPs to attend a debate and still keep an eye on their inbox, as long as it doesn't impair decorum.

'At the moment, we have the odd situation where we can have a wad of notes an inch thick but, if you have your notes on an iPad, you can't refer to them.

'We have to acknowledge the need for change.'

A report into the use of hand-held electronic devices, brought out by the committee today, said use of the Twitter site was good for democracy because it allowed constituents to keep up to date with what their MP was doing on their behalf.

Some 225MPs – around a third – are understood to be regular tweeters.

Handy aide: The watchdog says MPs can use the devices to store notes

'The use of Twitter by Members is very popular and its use in the chamber or Westminster Hall has caused comment from Members themselves and from the public,' the report said.

'Many different views have been expressed, from those who believe that it is a threat to the dignity of parliamentary proceedings to those who argue that it brings Parliament to a whole new audience.'

It added: 'Tweeting about proceedings from the galleries is in our view no different in degree from presenters commenting on live broadcasts of proceedings or indeed from tweeting or blogging about proceedings when watched from outside the chamber.

Opposed: Conservative MP James Gray says the move could change the tone of parliamentary discussions

'Whilst tweeting from inside the chamber is clearly a more sensitive matter, we consider that it would be inconsistent to ban this one practice whilst advocating the approach based on decorum rather than activity which we advocate in this report.'

But while the committee said the use of smartphones and iPads was allowed, laptops would still be banned. And any device must be no larger than an 'A4 sheet of paper'.

The committee decided that it would be helpful for MPs to use their smartphones and iPads – which allow users to surf the internet – as an aide memoire during debates.

They could refer to their Blackberry rather than paper notes when making speeches.

The move will also allow MPs to send and receive messages while other Members are talking.

But James Gray, the Tory MP for North Wiltshire, said the changes could lead to a 'worrying change in the atmosphere and style of debate in Parliament'.

'The excessive use of any electronic device could become an epidemic which would both be very unattractive to those observing our proceedings and also diminish the power of our debates.

'MPs should be in the chamber of the House of Commons and in committee to listen carefully to arguments advanced by colleagues and be ready to intervene or reply in their own speeches.'

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'Twitter is good for democracy': Parliamentary watchdog lifts ban on MPs using electronic devices during debates